[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 111 (Monday, August 2, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1716-E1717]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DISAPPROVING EXTENSION OF NONDISCRIMINATORY TREATMENT TO PRODUCTS OF 
                       PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. ZOE LOFGREN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 27, 1999

  Ms. LOFGREN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to express my opposition to House 
Joint Resolution 57 disapproving the extension of nondiscriminatory 
treatment (or normal trade relations) to

[[Page E1717]]

the People's Republic of China. The continued extension of normal trade 
relations (NTR) to China will do much to benefit the United States 
domestically, while engagement with China remains the most powerful 
means of advancing our interests abroad.
  I share the concerns of many of my colleagues over China's record on 
human rights. In particular, the plight of the people of Tibet is one 
that we must not ignore. As we engage China economically, we should 
work to engage China in a policy that allows Tibetan peoples, cultures, 
and beliefs to flourish. As President Clinton has repeatedly 
emphasized, engagement with China is one path by which to encourage 
reform. The Clinton administration and Congress will continue to press 
China for human rights' reform and democratization of its political 
process.
  Approximately 400,000 American jobs depend on trade with China. 
Nearly all of China's other major trading partners, including Japan and 
Europe, currently grant normal trade status to the People's Republic of 
China. Were China to retaliate with trade restrictions against the 
United States, these nations would gain a competitive trade edge 
against the United States that would jeopardize vast numbers of 
American jobs.
  Additionally, the revocation of China's NTR status would likely 
simply replace Chinese imports with goods imported from its neighboring 
nations, harming only the American consumer. Let us also remember that 
over the past decade, American exports to China have quadrupled to 
$14.3 billion, a large portion of which is made up by high-technology 
imports produced in locations such as my district in Silicon Valley.
  It is also possible that China might soon gain entrance into the 
World Trade Organization (WTO), an action that might result in the 
critical and historic acceptance by Chinese markets of American 
agricultural and industrial products. The chances of opening these 
Chinese markets would be severely diminished if the United States were 
to revoke NTR status at this point.
  China also plays an extremely important role in guaranteeing regional 
security and stability from the Korean Peninsular to the Indian 
Subcontinent. China's constructive efforts for peace between North and 
South Korea, and its push for restraint by India and Pakistan in the 
wake of their nuclear tests, highlight the positive role China is 
capable of playing in the international arena. And our policy of 
engagement has exhibited some meaningful success; as a result of our 
policy China has signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and joined the Chemical Weapons 
Convention and the Biological Weapons Convention.
  China clearly must take substantial steps to improve its record on 
human rights and democratize its government if it wishes to be fully 
accepted by the international community. Yet only further engagement 
with China will allow the United States the opportunity to advocate on 
behalf of its own interests and those of the Chinese people. I urge you 
vote against House Joint Resolution 57.

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